Feeding newborn babies with Formula milk

Winnie Wee, a colleague of mine, went for a ten-week maternity leave. She gave birth to a baby girl, her first child. Congratulations!

Upon seeing her walking to the office lift lobby, I was surprised that she was so slim, just like before she got married. That was the same impression of a gorgeous, slender body I saw during her wedding two years ago.

In my mind I was expecting a plump lady. In Singapore, most ladies ballooned up immediately after delivering a baby. They usually put on lots of weight, five to ten kilogram fairly easily within the first two months following her delivery. This observation could not be wrong. Do you agree with me, don’t you?

I asked her, “You look as gorgeous as a young and single lady. How did you manage to slim down so fast?”

Ladies, I beg your pardon. I am a man and I do not understand child-bearing. This is solely my personal perception.

Upon entering the lift, she explained, “There isn’t really a need to do anything about weight control. I ate twice as much as what I used before. That was normal during the confinement period. But I do one thing that most ladies choose not to do, that is, breast-feeding my baby. I had not bought a single can of formula milk up to today and I won’t be buying it until my breast-feeding stops.”

A little puzzled, I curiously asked, “What has breast-feeding got to do with slimming down?”

She explained, “Immediately after giving birth, a woman’s body adapts to the needs of feeding her baby with milk, lots of milk. Milk is the only source of energy, proteins, and other vital minerals for a baby.

Of course, a new mother will need to consume a lot of food in order to provide her baby with plenty of milk. This is the most sensible reason why most new mothers have big appetite.

If I choose not to breast-feed my baby, this extra intake of calories will be automatically stored up as fats piling up along my waistline and hips. I don’t need to go to the slimming centre and spend thousands of dollars on unscientific treatments. Instead, I just breast-feed my baby.”

It was a rude awakening to me. I realized that the formula milk industry has been very successful in influencing the new mothers to adopt feeding the new-born babies with formula milk from day one, immediately after giving birth to them. And all the new mothers are fooled, believing that formula milk is better for her child.

Of course, the catchy words, DHA and etc. were advertised as good components for the baby’s brain development. They unkindly hid a piece of vital information away from the new mothers, that is, mother’s milk is another good source of DHA. This is an excellent practice of the veil of misinformation.

To all the ladies who are pregnant or planning to give birth to your beloved little one, you should really consider carefully whether you should opt for formula milk for your newly-born baby or the traditional milk from breast-feeding.

Be kind to your baby and breast-feed him or her. It is going to be kinder to you, too. You will be gorgeous without the need for any slimming session or dieting. Nature knows best.